7 Architectural Wonders of the Natural World

2016-08-05 1

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1) Mound-building termites - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mound-building_termites
2) Sociable weaver - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociable_weaver
3) Naked mole rat - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_mole_rat
4) Ant colony - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_colony
5) Caddisfly - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddisfly
6) Beaver dam - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_dam
7) Spider web - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_web

1) Mound-building termites or just mound builders are a group of termite species that live in mounds. This group of termites live in Africa, Australia and South America. The mounds sometimes have a diameter of 30 metres. Most of the mounds are found in well drained areas. Termite mounds usually out live the colonies themselves. If the inner tunnels of the nest are exposed it is usually dead, however, sometimes other colonies occupy a mound after the death of the original builders. The new colonizers may be of the same or a different species.

2) The Sociable Weaver (Philetairus socius), also commonly known as the common social weaver, common social-weaver, and social weaver, is a species of bird in the Passeridae family endemic to Southern Africa. It is monotypic within the genus Philetairus. It is found in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. but their range is centered within the Northern Cape Province of South Africa . They build large compound community nests, a rarity among birds. These nests are perhaps the most spectacular structure built by any bird.

3) The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) also known as the sand puppy or desert mole rat, is a burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa and is the only species currently classified in the genus Heterocephalus. The naked mole rat and the Damaraland mole rat are the only known eusocial mammals. It has a highly unusual set of physical traits that enable it to thrive in an otherwise harsh underground environment; it is the only mammalian thermoconformer, has a lack of pain sensation in its skin, and has very low metabolic and respiratory rates.

4) An ant colony is the basic family unit around which ants organize their lifecycle. Ant colonies are eusocial, and are very much like those found in other social Hymenoptera, though the various groups of these developed sociality independently through convergent evolution. The typical colony consists of one or more egg-laying queens, a large number of sterile females ("workers") and, seasonally, a large number of winged sexual males and females. Periodically, swarms of the winged sexuals (known as alates) depart the nest in great nuptial flights. The males die shortly thereafter, along with most of the females. A small percentage of the females survive to initiate new nests.

5) The caddisflies are an order, Trichoptera, of insects with approximately 12,000 described species. Also called sedge-flies or rail-flies, they are small moth-like insects having two pairs of hairy membranous wings. They are closely related to Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) which have scales on their wings, and the two orders together form the superorder Amphiesmenoptera. Caddisflies have aquatic larvae and are found in a wide variety of habitats such as streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, spring seeps, and temporary waters (vernal pools). The larvae of many species use silk to make protective cases of gravel, sand, twigs or other debris. The name "Trichoptera" comes from Greek.

6) Beaver dams are dams built by beavers to provide ponds as protection against predators such as coyotes, wolves, and bears, and to provide easy access to food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way that the overall ecosystem builds upon the change, making beavers a keystone species. Beavers work at night and are prolific builders, carrying mud and stones with their fore-paws and timber between their teeth. Beavers can rebuild primary dams overnight, though they may not defend secondary dams as vigorously.

7) A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the obsolete word coppe, meaning "spider") is a device created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded